You will emerge from your government major grounded in international relations, American politics, comparative politics and political theory. You will get a front-line perspective on U.S. government if you are accepted into Hamilton’s program in Washington, D.C., where you will work in a Congressional or executive office.

A student learns firsthand: D.C. internship, study in France

“I worked mainly on constituent correspondence, researching bills that constituents would contact us about, and conveying the congresswoman’s stances and beliefs. I also helped research legislation for the other staffers and assisted with the congresswoman’s scheduling,” says Funk, a world politics major who is minoring – or possibly double-majoring – in French.

He’s spending his junior year studying in France: One of the things he loves about the world politics major at Hamilton College is the way it allows him to pursue all his interests.

“After deciding that I wanted to study abroad for the year in France, I realized that majoring in world politics, with a focus on Western Europe, would fit in perfectly with my interests in politics, foreign affairs and my desire to continue with French language,” he says.

Funk has been active with Hamilton’s Community Outreach and Opportunity Project, better known as COOP, and, like his time in Washington, he expects that experience to shape his post-Hamilton future.

Jacob Kleinrock '11 working at a University of Michigan-Michgan State football game.

A graduate’s progress: a job on the compaign trail

Jacob Kleinrock '11 has been interested in politics since high school. His government major at Hamilton College reaffirmed his interest, and he’s working as deputy finance director for a gubernatorial campaign. “The classes and one-on-one discussions were invaluable to me as I learned about the many problems of government and intricacies of the solutions,” Kleinrock says.

He does campaign finance for Michigan’s Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mark Schauer. He raises money and solicits donations with the campaign’s finance director and the rest of the finance team to cover campaign expenses such as staff and advertising.

“I use skills that I learned in my government classes every day,” says Kleinrock. “I feel like I'm better at problem solving and analyzing situations than I would have been without Hamilton's government department.”

At first he was more interested in going into policy work, but Kleinrock realized during his job search that his previous career-related experiences in campaign fundraising made him more marketable in that field. It’s been a good fit.

“I love what I'm doing right now,” Kleinrock says.

“I definitely think government was a good choice because the government professors really teach you how to think critically about all sorts of issues, and regardless of what field you go into critical thinking is a lifelong skill. I also love the major because we write a lot of papers (as well as for my philosophy minor) so my writing has improved dramatically! I read papers from freshman fall and can't believe how much my writing has improved.” — Hillary Kolodner ’14 Government major

After Hamilton

Hamilton graduates who concentrated in government are pursuing careers in a variety of fields, including: